This invention relates to a vehicle axle incorporating anti-lock braking, and more particularly, the invention relates to an anti-lock braking system (ABS) sensor bracket used to support an ABS sensor on the axle.
Commercial trailer axles incorporate ABS to better control heavily loaded trailers during braking to prevent loss of control of the vehicle. The wheel hubs supported on the ends of the axle each have a toothed wheel that rotates with the hubs. An ABS sensor is supported on the axle by a bracket proximate to the toothed wheel to detect the rotation of the wheel hub. The sensor is connected to an ABS controller that monitors the rotation of the wheel hub during braking to detect locking of the wheels. The controller commands the brakes to maximize the braking force between the wheels and the roadway without locking up the wheels.
The ABS sensor bracket is typically a solid piece of machined metal that is expensive to manufacture and secure to the axle. The bracket has a pedestal with a bottom surface that is adjacent to an axle portion exterior. The bracket is secured to the axle by a weld bead on either side of the pedestal. Since the bottom surface is flat, the weld bead must fill the gap between the bottom surface and the curved axle exterior to obtain a robust attachment of the bracket to the axle, which is a difficult process to control. The bracket is secured to the axle in a separate operation in which the orientation of the axle is not closely controlled so that proper position of the bracket relative to the axle is not always achieved. Therefore, what is needed is a more cost effective ABS sensor bracket and method of attachment.